The dry leaves are quite small, likely ujeon grade, with some buds in the mix. Very juicy and sweet, very vibrant odours emit from these thin, rolled leaves. Strong fruity peachy dried apricot notes are apparent.

The first infusion contains soft peach notes with sweet pure light sugary tastes that glide across the tongue. It leaves a smooth fresh apricot finish in the mouth. The mouthfeel is full but soft, light and very clean.

The second infusion delivers a very distinct peach and spicy pungent cinnamon initial taste. A very light but rich smooth base of sweet autumn leaves is underneath which delivers a clean deeper malty taste that faintly lingers in the distance. These tastes, especially the distinct peach and cinnamon, fade into the aftertaste. The mouthfeel is light but full leaving a sweet taste in the mid-throat. The qi is profoundly relaxing and completely spaces out the mind.

In the third infusion the fruity taste and spicy cinnamon taste seem inseparable and very strong and pure in the initial flavour. Soft persimmon and dried apricot come to mind. The mouthfeel is full and leaves the mouth and throat soft and slightly sticky. Barely detectable underneath is the sweet malty-syrup taste providing a bit of contrast to the sweet, dominating pungent fruit tastes. The qi emits a subtle warmth on this cool windy day. The mind feels tranquil.

The fourth and fifth infusion are much the same as the third- very fresh, clean, deep, smooth, and soft. The persimmon is bready now with still quite sweet edges. The mouthfeel continues to impress with its soft gentle nuances in harmony with this gentle clean tea.

The sixth infusion has more of a smooth spiciness with fruity notes becoming weaker while the malty, caramel depth drawing more attention. This tea maintains much of its taste throughout the session without moving too much away from these pleasant pure tastes.

The seventh infusion is now of plumby-peach wood with pungency that is almost gone. The light caramel tastes are still apparent. These tastes fade into faint apricot that stays on the breath.

The eighth and ninth infusions impart a bready quality upfront which turns to persimmon then slowly fades away. This tea is taken for a few more longer infusions which bring out sweet pure, deep, rich malty fruit pear tastes with subtle spicy persimmon.

This tea is sold under the name "ZeDa Tea" at Good Green Tea which has nothing to do with the Korean source. It is simply a brand that Sam started which is bringing in wild or small farmed teas.

This tea has since sold out but Sam is taking pre-orders for the 2012 version of this same tea. Contact him if you are interested.

It looks like this one sold out within a day of posting. It was a unique opportunity to purchase such a great tea- lucky for those who got their order in!

The Jung sun is pretty standard Korean jungjak grade tea, it tastes a bit different because of the steaming process though. My advice with this one is to drink it shortly after opening as one got less then exciting results with this tea weeks after opening the package. Fresh green tea is always better green tea!

From picking standard, processing, and into the cup, this is a superb tea. The mouthfeel is full and round yet it's delicate. The range of flavors and aromas to be had are impressive. And whats equally impressive is how the flavors stay fairly consistent with each additional steeping, the more subtle flavors never really dissappear, they go the distance. That is something you don't find very often, even in high quality teas. Money well spent!

Yes, a very pleasant balhyocha! The stamina and relative consistency of such light tones is surprising. Feel free to leave your thoughts or comments on any other Korean teas you may have acquired from Good Green Tea on the corresponding posts here on MattCha's. As always, it is nice to here your impressions of these teas.

Besides the balhyocha I bought some Ssangkye teas, Jungno, Roasting Sejak, and Black Sejak. The Jungno is brilliant, expensive but worth the money for the ocassional self indulgence. Black Sejak is also very nice, nothing in common with what westerners think of as black tea. The Roasting Sejak I havn't tried yet but I'm sure it's going to be equally superb. Whats suprising is that all of these teas taste and smell fresh as the day they were made, and seeing as they are at a discounted price right now I,ll be ordering more, especially the Jungno.

Have found that Ssangkye green teas seem to hold their freshness longer than other Korean tea brands. Last year ones large yearly shipment of Korean tea was expected to arrive in August so one deliberately decided to go with mainly Ssangkye green teas knowing that most would be consumed in the Fall, Winter and Spring.

In fact, just opened and finished a box of Jongno this month, it felt just as fresh as the box opened early Fall. See here:

Any use of tea for medicinal purposes should be done with full consultation with a medical professional. The material on this blog (text and photos) is the intellectual property of the administrator of this blog. If you wish to use any of it, please ask permission. Citations or reference to text from this blog should be done with explicit reference to and/or a link to MattCha's Blog. Peace